October 13, 2010
Mr. Bill Levine, chair
UBC Board of Governors
The University of British Columbia
Re: UBC Childcare and the role of Kids & Co
Dear Mr. Levine,
As one of the largest campus-based childcare providers in North America, UBC
Child Care Services is best known for the quality services it offers student parents,
faculty and staff. Despite having opened six new daycare facilities since 2009
creating 141 new childcare spaces, the UBC community still faces a childcare crisis
with more than 1500 children on its waiting list.
It came to our attention that recently the UBC Human Resource department signed
a contract with a for-profit childcare company called Kids & Company without
public, stakeholder consultation. This decision by the UBC administration
contradicts the stated goal outlined in the Trek 20101 vision and operational plan
proclaiming UBC’s aim of expanding childcare services to ensure they meet the
needs of its student parents, faculty and staff.
UBC’s act of signing this contract with a for-profit childcare company in no way
achieves this or moves our community toward meeting our childcare needs. In fact,
the opposite is true, as research2 shows that for-profit childcare companies focus on
1
www.trek2000.ubc.ca/targets/index.html
Mill, D. N. and Bartlett & D. R. White. Profit and non – profit day care: A comparison of quality, caregiver
behaviour, and structural features. Canadian Journal of Early Childhood Education, 4(2): 45-53, 1995. In print: CIRC
ID # 7157
2
maximizing profits by keeping expenses low through hiring less skilled childcare
workers and paying them lower wages.
The Graduate Student Society has a history of advocating for quality, affordable,
accessible, publicly-funded UBC-based childcare. We are deeply concerned that
the impact of outsourcing childcare at UBC to a private company will increase the
level of anxiety of UBC community members requiring these services who can
reasonably expect lower quality and higher costs if this decision by the UBC
Human Resource department /UBC administration is acted upon.
We believe that first and foremost, it is the responsibility of the provincial and
federal governments to provide funding for the expansion of childcare services on
campus, and secondly, as a world class university, UBC needs to expand its quality
childcare service.
It’s with this reality in mind that we urge you to review this decision and cancel the
contract with Kids & Company.
I look forward to hearing from you
Sincerely,
Sedi Minachi
Vice President Academic & External
Graduate Student Society of UBC Vancouver
Eamil: vpexternal@gss.ubc.ca
Cc: Stephen Toope, president
Brian Sullivan, VP Students
Darcell Cottons, UBC Childcare director